1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device for filling an aerosol container with a liquid, such as paint, a filling arrangement able to accommodate such a device, a cap for an aerosol container, and an aerosol container equipped with at least one part of the filling device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Devices designed to promptly fill aerosol containers, comprising a mechanism with a cylinder and a piston, manually actuated, for injecting the substance into the aerosol container that already contains a propellant gas are already known from document CH 458 965. The cylinder encompasses the top end of the aerosol container and is kept in place above the aerosol using fixing means. This cylinder includes a tank that is designed to accommodate the substance to be injected into the aerosol.
The tank, which can be disposable, is located within the cylinder and follows its shape. There is an opening both on the bottom end of the cylinder and of the disposable tank, thus allowing passage of the substance to be injected into the aerosol. The presence of the disposable tank thus makes it possible to avoid the steps of cleaning the cylinder and therefore the disadvantages associated with them when the substance to be injected into the aerosol is changed.
According to the apparatus of this document, the terminal end of the piston is likewise covered by a plastic shell, likewise disposable, thus protecting the piston and likewise preventing its cleaning.
Unfortunately, such a disposable tank, even if it perfectly follows the inside contours of the cylinder, does not include a closure, and therefore remains open when the piston is withdrawn from the interior of the cylinder. As a result, even if the presence of the disposable tank in the cylinder prevents its cleaning each time the substance to be injected into the aerosol is changed, its manual withdrawal from the cylinder can entail soiling and/or contamination of the cylinder and/or nearby attachments, due again to the presence of residual substance in the bottom of the tank.
At the same time, the withdrawal of the protective shell of the piston requires the operator to make contact with the residual liquid covering the shell, the withdrawal operation being carried out manually.
Other filling arrangements that use a cup that is cleaned after each filling are known from the documents U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,841, EP-0,440,477 and FR-1,276,296.